Ventilator



' SeP 9 A.. F. FOEHRENBACH. EI'AL 2,296,635

VENTILATOR Filed Jill 31, 1940' s Sheets-Sheet 1 l\ A ,e'THuz F'FOEHEENBACH 001mm 15- BUEBG/N DONALD -MACLEOD /6 TM v 5? A Sept. 22, 1942.

A. F. FOEHRENBACH ET AL.

VENTILATOR Filed July 31, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ARTHUR F-FOEHBENBACH DONALD n-auz/zeuv DONALD K mac/.500

Arrows lllllll/l/l Sept. 22, 1942.

A. F. FOEHREN'BAVCH ETAL 2,296,635

VENTILATOR Filed July :51, 1940 r s Sheets-$heet s t S .H m? M :m m MRGE T L HRC A $1 Q Fan/M a WM? TNN Boa A00 Patented Sept. 22,1942

, I VENTLATOB Arthur F. Foehrenbach and Donald B. Buergin,

Canton, and Donald K. Macleod, Wooster, Ohio, assignors' to Republic Steel Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application July 31, 1940, Serial No. 348,792

9 Claims.

This invention relates to ventilating appa-- ratus and more particularly to an improved window ventilator for drawing outside air into a room and/or circulating the air within the room.

A number of.,devices have been employed for room ventilation which consist essentially ofa fan mounted in a housing supported on a window sill with the window sash in partially open position. In this type of apparatus a motor driven fan is employed to draw outside air into the room and thevpresent invention relates to certain improvements in this type of apparatus whereby an exceedingly simple, attractive, and effective ventilating unit is obtained.

It is among the objects of our invention to provide a window ventilator which is adapted either to force outside air into a room only, to exclude all outside air and circulate the air in the room, or to cause any desired proportion of inside and outside air to be mingled and circulated in the room.

Other objects of our invention include: the provision of an improved window ventilator structure in which the blowers or fans may readily be removed and replaced; the provision of a window ventilator which is extremely silent in operation and which is also effective to exclude external noises from the room; the provision of an improved damper for adjusting the flow of air through the ventilator; the provision of a window ventilator which may readily be installed in windows of different widths; and the provision of a window ventilator which is well adapted to economical manufacture, possesses a minimum of moving parts, and may be very easily dissem-' bled when desired.

The above and other objects of our invention will appear from the following description of. one embodiment thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of our improved ventilator showing the main housing, blower unit and front cover in spaced'apart relation. I

Figure 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on line 2-4 of Figure 1, showing the main housing installed in position in a window.

Figure 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view through the blower unit taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

.Figure 4'is a transverse cross-sectional view of the front cover taken on line H of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of the assembled cover and housing taken substantially on line 55 of, Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the housing and fan unit, the housing end wall being partially broken away to show the resilient supports for the blower unit in the main housing.

Figure 'l is a fragmentary detached perspective view of the-damper structure for controlling the entry-of air to the ventilator unit, the outside inlet opening being wide open and the inside air opening being completely closed.

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but showing the damper positioned to admit both outside and inside air into the ventilatormixing chamher.

In Figure 1 the main housing is indicated generally at H, the blower unit at B, and the front cover at C. The housing H is open at the front,

partially open at the bottom, and has end walls i and 2, a top 3 and a rear wall 4. Preferably, these walls are coated with an adherent sound absorbing material indicated at 4 in Figure 2. A hollow rib 5 extends along the top 3 and a supporting and sealing channel 6 extends across the bottom of the housing H. In order to permit our ventilator to be fitted to windows of diiferent widths we provide the adjustable end wings I and 8.

Referring particularly to the wing I, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, the top longitudinal member 9 is shaped to fit over the rib 5 and has anextending flange l0 which, when the unit is installed in a window, lies below the bottom of the window sash ii. A felt seal strip i2 forms a weather tight joint between the window H and the top of the housing H and it will be observed from Figure 2 that, by providing 'the rib 5 and its adjustable extension 9, entry of rain or air between the-window and the top of the ventilator is effectively prevented. i

The bottom longitudinal member l3 of the sliding wing 'i'is formed as shown in Figure 2 and includes a downwardly extending rib M which slides into the 'U-shaped channel I5 of the housing supporting member 6. -A felt seal it is placed between the housing support and the window sill I! and, as the U-shaped channel I5 is formed with its open edge inwardly, driving rain and wind cannot work in'between the sliding wings and the channel supporting member 6 and a weather tight joint is formed between the bottom of the housing H and the window sill. The above description of end wing 1 also applies to the endwing 8.

End brackets l8 and i9 are secured to the sides of the window frame by screws or other suitable means (not shown). These brackets consist essentially of angle members faced with felt sealing strips 20 and 2| which engage the sides of the window frame and provide weather tight joints. At the outer end of. the wing 1 an inclined surface. 22 extends across the channel which forms the end of the longitudinal member 8. Thebottom ends of the sides of the supporting channels l8 and I! are inturned as seen at 23 and it will be observed that when, the brackets l8 and ID are secured to the opposite sides of a window frame and the end wings 1 and 8 are adjusted so that the total width of the housing unit and end wings is equal to the'width of the window frame, the housing and its associated parts may be positioned in the window by merely lifting it sumciently to permit the inclined surfaces 22 of the wings 1 and 8 to hook over the top edges 24 and 25 of the brackets i8 and I9. This arrangement provides for extremely easy and quick installation and removal of the entire ventilating apparatus, as it is only necessary to lift the entire unit sufficiently to permit the bottom of the lips I to clear the top edges 24 and 25 of the attaching brackets whereupon the entire unit can be removed.

Thev interior of the housing 1-! is divided generally into two chambers or sections, a fan chamber 25 and an inlet or mixing chamber 21 (see Fig. 2). These chambers. are separated by the flat rectangular filter body 28 which preferably consists of amass .of oil impregnated glass wool or the like supported in a suitably perforated flat rectangular housing 28. This filter is adapted to slide in and out of position in the housing H on rails or slides 29 mounted on the ends l and 2 of the housing. A similar supporting rail 33 is mounted on the rear wall 4, of the housing.

When the filter 28 is in position as shown in Figure 2 its front edge is supported adjacent the top edge of the short upwardly extending wall 3| and thus serves to complete the enclosureof the mixing chamber 21.

Decoratively formed webs 32 are secured to the end walls I and 2 of the housingand are preferably contoured to correspond with the edges 33 and 34 of the wings 1 and 8. After the proper position for the wings 1 and 8 is determined to fit any particular window, glass is cut to fit the space between the edges 33 and 34 and the webs '32 and thus, regardless of the width of the window our improved unit can readily be installed witha minimum of light obstruction.

The blower unit B comprises a front panel be removed by merely drawing it forward out 35 which carries the driving motor 35. A pair of blower fans 31 and 38 are mounted on opposite ends of the shaft of the motor 36 and are enclosed. in suitable housings 39 and 40. Discharge openings 4| and 42 are formed in the front panel 3.5 and inlet air is drawn into the fans through the open ends of the fan rotors. Lugs 43 and 44 are attached adjacent the ends of the blower unit B and a longitudinally extending supporting angle -45 (see Fig. 6) .extends between the blower housings 39 and 40. Secured to the ends I and 2 of the housing H are rubber angle brackets 46 and a similar bracket 41 is mounted on the rear wall 4 of the housing. The brackets 46 engage the lugs 43 and 44 and the rubber bracket 41 engages the rear blower support 45. With this arrangement the sole support of the entire blower unit B is efiected by the three rubber angles 46, 46, and 41 and any vibrations are absorbed by the rubber mounting thus making for extremely quiet operation. Furthermore, when necessary, the blower unit may of the housing H. A rubber edging 43 extends around thepanel 35 and, when the blower unit B is in position in the housing H, engages and forms a seal joint with the front of the housing and the front edge of the filter 28. This is best seen inFlgure 5.

Along the front edge of the top 3 of the housing H is an angle member 43 having spaced slots 50 formed-therein. This angle engages and supports the inturned top flange ii of the front cover C and cover latching arms 52 extend through the holes 50, as seen in Figure 5, to secure the top edge of the front cover C in position on the housing H. An inclined locking flange 53 is secured to the upwardly extending portion 3i of the housing H and is adapted to be engaged by a screw 54 having threaded engagement through the bottom portion 55 of the cover 0. As clearly seen in Figure 5, the end of the screw 54 engages the innersurface of the inclined flange 53 and, by tightening the knurled head 53- of the screw 54, the'bottom edge 51 of the front cover is drawn into tight engagement with the front of the housing H. To remove the cover the screw 53 is withdrawn until it clears the bottom of the flange 53, the bottom edge of the cover swung outwardly and the cover lifted bodily from its support on the flange 49.

A blower speed adjusting knob is indicated at 58 and an on and oil switch at. The speed adjusting knob preferably operates a rheostat 43 and electrical connections from'the cover C to the blower unit B are completed through a suitable cord SI and attachment plug 32. A receptacle 63 for the plug 62 is supported on the front panel 35 of the blower unit and current is suppermits each removal and replacement of the.

unit and eliminates vibrations and noises which may accompany the operation.

As is -best'seen in Figure 2, the housing H, when installed in a window, is located partly within the room and partly outside of the room. In order to control the ventilating action of the machine we provide a series of openings 55 in the bottom panel 68 of the housing H; -These openings 65 are disposed on the inside of the room. Other inlet openings 81, located out of alignment with the openings 65. are disposed on the opposite'side of the supporting channel 4 and thus are located out of doors or on the opposite side of the window. A sliding damper, comprising a plate or panel 58 covered with a layer of felt '69 on itslower surface, slides back and forth on the panel 68. An operating rod 10 extends downwardly below the bottom of the housing, within the room, and provides means for sliding the damper panel 63 into any desired position. Openings 1| in the damper -83 are adapted to co-act with the openin s 65 to form "variable room to be drawn into the mixing chamber 21 below the filter 28. In like manner, openings 12 in the damper 68 cooperate with the outdoor openings 31 to provide means for carrying the quantity of outside air drawn into the mixing chamber 21.

When the damper 68 is in its extreme right hand position, as shown in Figure 7, the indoor door opening 61 louvres 13, on the front while the'outopenings "are completely closed 7 with this setare wide open. ting of the damper, 36 is operating, all of theair drawn intothe chamber 21 willbe from the, outside of the window. This air will be drawn from the chamber 21 through the filter 28 into the blower chamber 26 and will be discharged through the blower outlet openings II and 42 and the adjustable cover C, into the room. If it is desired to cause recirculation of the air within the room in addition to forcing. outside air into the room, the operating arm I may be moved to the left into a position such as shown in Figure 8. In this position the indoor inlets 85 and the outdoor inlets 61 are both'partlally open and air will be drawn into the mixing cham- I ber 21 both from within the room and from out of doors. The inside and outside air is thus drawn into the chamber 21' where passes through the filter 28 and is discharged by the fans 31 and 38 out into the room. By varying the position of the damper 88 any desired proportion of inside air to outside air maybe obtained and, when the damper 68 is moved to its extreme left hand position. the outside open-. lugs 61 will be completely closed and the inside openings 65 will be completely open, and'the only action of the ventilator-will be to recirculate the air within the room.

With our extremely simple proportioning damper arrangement, located so that all of the air passing through the damper enters a common mixing chamber disposed ahead of a filter, all of the air passed by the fans 37 and 38 is first filtered; Furthermore, the indoor and outdoor air is'caused to mingle before it enters the vfanchamber 26 and thus-the air discharged dow.

through the adjustable louvres 13 will be of imiform temperature and free from dust, etc.

Although we have described the illustrated embodiment of our invention in considerable detail it will be understood by those skilled in the art that numerous variations and modifications may be made in the specific form of apparatus employed, and we do not, therefore, wish to be limited to the particular ventilator structure herein shown and described but claim as our invention all embodiments thereof coming within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In ventilating apparatus, for supporting said housing partially inside and partially outside of a window, said housing having a bottom portion provided with a plurality of openings disposed outside of the window and a plurality of openings disposed inside of the window; a sliding damper having openings corresponding to said housing bottom openings, means for sliding said damper to vary the ratio of outside opening to inside opening, and means in said housing for drawing air through said openings and discharging said air inside of said wina housing, means 2. In ventilating apparatus, a housing to be positioned partly inside and partly outside of a window frame and between the window frame and window sash, an upwardly projecting rib on the top of said housing and extending longitudinally thereof, a downwardly projecting flange extending longitudinally of and below the bottom of said housing and substantially in vertical alignment with said top rib, said rib and flange lying adjacent to the frame and sash when it mingles and assuming that the fan motor and'end wings slidably engaging said top rib and bottom flange on opposite ends of said housing and adjustably movable toward and away from each other to fit against upright parts of said frame.

3. Inventilating apparatus, a housing to be positioned in the space between a window frame and window sash and to lie partly inside and partly outside of said frame, an upwardly projecting rib on the top of said housing and extending longitudinally thereof, a downwardly projecting flange extending longitudinally of and below the bottom of said housing and substantiallyin vertical alignment with said top rib, and end wings slidably engaging said top rib and bottom flange on opposite ends of said housing and adjustably movable toward and away from each other, said end wings'having overlapping engagement with said rib and flange whereby a substantially weather-proof joint is maintained, said rib, flange and wings cooperating with the window frame and sash to close the space around said housing,

4. In ventilating apparatus, a housing, an upwardly projecting rib on the top of said housing and extending longitudinally thereof, a downwardly projecting flange extending longitudinally of and below the bottom of said housing and substantially in vertical alignment with said top rib, end wings slidably engaging said top rib and bottom flange on opposite ends of said housing and adjustable toward and away from each other, webs extending from the ends of said housing, and glass panels supported by said end wings adjacent said webs whereby said wings and webs frame-said glass panels.

5. In ventilating apparatus, a housing, a filter in said housing extending horizontally across -the housing above the bottom thereof whereby said housing is divided into a lower inlet chamber and an upper fan chamber, means for supporting said housing in a window frame or the like with saidhousing partly inside and partly outside of said frame, an opening into said inlet the housing is in assembled position therewith,

chamber from the inner side of said frame, an opening into said inlet chamber from the outer side of said frame, a single damper means having openings therethrough to coact with said openings into. said inlet chamber 'for' simultaneously and progressively opening said inner opening and closing said outer opening and vice versa, said. fan chamber having an outlet onthe inner side of said window frame, and fan means in said fan chamber for drawing air through said openings and filtering and discharging said air through said outlet.

6. In 'a ventilator of the type described, a housing having a flat bottom portion formed witha plurality of inlet openings, a flange for supporting said housing on a window frame or the like whereby some of said inlet openings are disposed outside of said frame and some inside,

a sliding damper for controlling said inlet openings, said damper comprising a flat plate having openings positioned to cb-act with said inlet openings to vary the effective area of said inlet openings, a felt sheet between said damper plate and the bottom of said housing, means projecting outside of said housing for moving said dampen. and means in the housing for drawing air thru said openings and discharging it on the inner side of said frame.

'7. In a ventilator of the type described, a housinghaving a flat bottom portion formed with a plurality of inlet openings, a flange for 4g aaoaess supporting said housing on a window frame or v porting lugs, and a plurality of resilient rubber the like whereby some of said inlet openings are brackets secured to the inside of the walls --ofdisposed outside of said frame and some inside, said housing, said fan-unit lugs resting upon said a sliding damper tor controlling said inlet openrubher-..brackets and supporting said fan unit ings. said damper comprising a fiat plate having 5 substantially free -irom other supporting openings positioned to coact with said inlet opentact with said housin ings to vary the eii'ective area of said inlet open-- 9. In a ventilator of the type described, a housi -ings, a felt sheet b'etweensaid damper plate and 7 ing. rubber supporting brackets in said housing,

the bottomv of said ho means projecting a fan unit-supported in said housing on said a 7 outside of said housing for mo said dampen-1,0 brackets, a front cover for said housing,-and

said bottom inlet openings which are disposed means for detchabiy securing said front cover outside of said frame being out 'of alignment in position on said housing. said securing means with said bottom inlet, openings'which are disincluding an angle flange at the top of said posed inside or said frame whereby'movement of housing, a flange at the top of said cover and said damper will vary the ratio of-total outside is engaging said housingflange, an inclinedpiate opening area to total inside opening area,-and secured to said housing-adjacent the bottom of meansin said housing to cause airto flow through said cover and a screw having threaded engagesaid openings and to the inner sideof said ment with said cover and adapted to engage said rmma inclined plate whereby tightening of said screw 8. In a ventilator oi the type described, a hous- 20 will drawsaid cover firmly against said housing. ing, a-fan unit enclosed in said housing, said fan unit having a front panel'providedwith ARTHUR F. h

rubber flanges to bear against the front side -DONALD- B. BUERGIN.

of said housing and having a plurality-of sup- DONALD K. MACIIEOD. 

